Truffles and Cheese

Truffle risotto photo credit Andy Hagedon Photography

Bursting with umami, an irresistible savory flavor that we all crave, truffles and cheese are a seductive combination of earthy aroma and creamy richness. According to Jason McKinney one of the founders of Truffle Shuffle, a company that specializes in selling high-quality truffles and truffle products, truffles were once believed to be poisonous, but when farmers saw pigs eating them, “They realized they weren’t poisonous after all and gave them a try. Initially, they were added to simple dishes like risotto and porridge (think polenta).” Eventually, truffles became a prized luxury ingredient and these days you'll often find them paired with dishes laden with butter and cheese. 

Truffles often get lumped together with mushrooms, but they are not mushrooms. Truffles are the fruiting bodies of the genus Tuber and grow underground intertwined with tree roots. While black truffles are subtle and earthy, white truffles are pungent with a garlic-like aroma. McKinney says that, while the flavor of black truffles is released with gentle cooking, white truffles are too fragile and should only be used on finished dishes just prior to serving.

McKinney’s love for truffles grew out of his experience as a chef at the French Laundry where truffles are used in many dishes from an elegant risotto with an airy puff of mousse made from Parmigiano Reggiano and finished with brown butter table side to release even more truffle aroma to a simple yet satisfying house-made “Ritz” style crackers with truffles and Cowgirl Creamery Wagon Wheel cheese. 

Pairing Truffles and Cheese

Truffle goat cheese

When pairing truffles and cheese, there’s a wide variety of cheeses that work well including fresh cheeses, hard rind cheeses, and even blue cheeses. Says McKinney, “For those who do like blue cheeses, truffle honey and blue cheese is a great combination, in particular, a dolce style blue is complemented by truffle honey which has an almost savory flavor.” The only cheeses to avoid? McKinney says “Stay away from a cheese that is too pungent like a black pepper pecorino. Washed rinds that have a strong flavor component or marinated  or herbed goat cheese.” Two favorite pairings of truffles and cheese from Truffle Shuffle are Cowgirl Mt Tam with truffle honey and warm goat cheese with truffle salt or shaved truffles.

Cooking with Truffles and Cheese

Truffle mac and cheese photo credit Sarah Rundle Photograph

When cooking with truffles, one of the most important elements, other than the freshness and quality of the truffles, is temperature. Heat helps to release their aroma. It’s also important to slice the truffles thinly to allow for the most surface area. Since the COVID-19 shutdown, Truffle Shuffle has added virtual cooking classes to their offerings and partnered with a number of artisanal cheesemakers including Bellwether Farms, Cowgirl Creamery, Laura Chenel, Cypress Grove and Andante.

Their most popular classes have featured luxurious comfort food dishes with cheese such as truffle macaroni and cheese with local mozzarella, cheddar, and Cowgirl Wagon Wheel with black truffles, as well as ricotta gnocchi from two Michelin star chef Suzette Gresham of Acquerello. The rolled gnocchi is finished with truffle salt and sage and truffle brown butter sauce. Their next class? Black truffle tortellini in brodo on July 29th, 2020 includes a virtual tour of a cheese cave in Italy.

Truffle Cheese 

"Coulommiers Truffe" by Hopkinsii is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0

Another way to enjoy truffles and cheese is with truffle cheeses. Sarah McKinney a co-founder at Truffle Shuffle speaks highly of truffle cheeses such as  Truffle Tremor, Coulommiers truffle, Boschetto al Tartufo, and truffle pecorino. She notes that the quality of those cheeses is high and that’s because they use real truffles rather than artificially flavored low-quality truffle oil that typically floods the market. Says Sarah McKinney, “That’s why you see truffles layered in the cheese.”